Naruto Hyuga
by KyuubiSagemode
Summary: After the Kyuubi attack, Hiashi decides to adopt Naruto and make him a Hyuga. Naruto is trained by the Hyguas and he befriends Hinata at a young age. NaruHina. Possible lemons later on.
1. Prologue

**KyuubiSagemode: This story will be a NaruHina fic. It's my first story, so reviews would be very appreciated. **

It was a sad day for Konoha: the Kyuubi had just destroyed a good portion of the village and took the Fourth Hokage with it. Sarutobi Hiruzen looked down at the infant in his arms, the seal used to contain the Kyuubi still showing on his stomach.

An Anbu member dropped down next to Sarutobi.

"Sir, the council has called a meeting to decide a plan for the future."

Sarutobi sighed. "Tell them I will be there soon."

As the Anbu left, Sarutobi looked once more at the infant, contemplating his fate. The Fourth Hokage had wanted the village to see him as a hero and someone to look after him after his parents' deaths. Sarutobi would look after the boy, but he was sure the council would want him to come out of retirement and become Hokage again, and he just wouldn't have time to look after the boy. Sarutobi was also worried what the council would decide to do with the boy. Villages always treat Jinchuurikis harshly, and Sarutobi feared that the council wouldn't look at the boy as the hero that saved the Leaf, but rather as a symbol of the demon that killed their friends and loved ones.

With those thoughts still lingering in his head, Sarutobi leaped off towards the council meeting.

"Ah, Sarutobi-San, we have been expecting you. Who is that child?" said one of the civilian council members. The civilian council was usually made of plump, aged men who looked to assert their superiority, and this man was no different.

"That does not matter right now; we need to pick a new Hokage first," interrupted Tsume, the council representative and head of the Inuzuka clan. "We have already discussed it, and we feel that you're the best person for the job."

Sarutobi took deep sigh. "Couldn't you find someone else? I have already had my turn at running the village."

Shikaku Nara, the head of the Nara clan known for their intellect, took that moment to speak up. "There is no one else. Jiraiya's still out of the village and so is Tsunade. None of the other ninja's have the ability to lead or defend the Leaf."

The other council members nodded at the Nara's logic and voiced their opinion that Sarutobi should be the Hokage.

"Alright, I'll do it."

The council members smiled: the future of the village seemed to be in good hands. The cries of the momentarily forgotten baby reminded everyone of the other issue.

Shikaku spoke up once again. "Sarutobi-san, I know the answer is going to be troublesome, but why do you have a baby in your arms?"

"This is the son of the Yondaime Hokage. This baby is the reason we are all still alive. The Yondaime sacrificed himself to seal the Nine-Tailed Fox into his own son. His only wishes were that someone would look after him and that he would be treated as a hero. I am unable to look after him now that I am Hokage again, so would any of you take the boy."

Most of the civilian council members looked at the infant in fear.

"He is the Kyuubi. We should kill him immediately."

Sarutobi looked on in horror as most of the council started agreeing with the statement.

"No, he is not the Kyuubi, he is the hero of Konoha ."

However, his statement went unnoticed as most of the council started calling for the boy's death.

"Kill the demon!"

"Kill the Kyuubi!"

Hiashi Hyuag just sat in his seat contemplating his options. He was good friends with the Yondaime Hokage, and the addition of a jinchuuriki into the Hyuga clan would make them more powerful.

"Stop!" Hiashi's voice rang out, silencing the room. "I will take in the boy. From now on he is a Hyuga and is under the protection of the Hyuga clan."

Some protests were shouted out by some civilian members, but were quickly silenced by the cold glare of Hiashi. Hiashi then walked down to meet Sarutobi and the two walked out the room together.

"Thank you Hiashi."

"No thanks is necessary, Sarutobi-san. As a friend to Minato, it was my duty to look after the boy."

Sarutobi nodded and handed over the boy to Hiashi.

"There are some things I have to tell you. The boy's heritage will be kept a secret in order to protect him from his father's enemies, and I will be passing a law forbidding the spread of the knowledge that the boy is the jailor of the Kyuubi. This means that the boy must not be told of this either, at least not until the time is right. If the seal starts acting up, contact me immediately, and I will send for Jiraiya to come look at it."

Hiashi nodded and started to walk away with the young boy before stopping and looking back.

"Oh, what is his name?"

"Naruto."

**That was the first chapter of the story. I expect it to be pretty long in length and once again there will be NaruHina in later chapters. Reviews are very welcome, once again, because this is my first story.**


	2. Age 6

"Hey Hinata-chan. Do you want to play?"

Naruto Hyuga is now at the age of six. He has spiky, blond hair and unlimited energy.

"S-sure Naruto-san. W-what do you w-want to p-play?"

Hinata, also age six, has short black hair and a nice smile. However, Naruto noticed that she seems to stutter and blush a lot around him.

"How about hide-and-go-seek?"

"O-okay."

Naruto beamed a smile at her and took her hand, leading her outside. Hinata gave out a small eep at this action. Naruto and Hinata have become best friends over the last couple of years, becoming near inseparable in the past six months during the daytime. The two could often be found paying hide-and-go-seek together. Due to their close relationship, Hinata has developed a small crush on Naruto.

"Okay Hinata-chan, I'll be it first."

However, before they could start playing, three Hyuga branch members came towards them.

"Lady Hinata, your father has requested your presence."

"H-hai," Hinata said, not wanting to make her father wait. "I w-will l-leave now."

"Yeah Hinata-chan. Let's go."

"No, only Lady Hinata's presence was requested. You are not welcome."

"D-don't worry, N-Naruto-san, I w-will be b-back s-soon." Hinata said before turning and running for the Hyuga mansion.

After Hinata had left, the three branch members stayed behind, facing away from Naruto, completely ignoring his presence.

"Do you guys know how long it will be before Hinata-chan returns?" questioned Naruto.

All three pairs of eyes tured to glare at Naruto.

"Shut up filth. You should stay away from Lady Hinata. She is the heir to the Hyuga clan, and she shouldn't be seen around a demon like you."

"What?" Naruto was genuinely confused at this point. The few branch members he had talked to before had talked to him with respect. "When did I ever do anything bad to Hinata-chan?"

"How dare you speak to a Hyuga like that!"

"But I am a Hyuga-Naruto _Hyuga_."

"Ha. You are not a true Hyuga and do not deserve to share our name demon filth."

By now Naruto was getting very angry, and tears started forming in his eyes. "Shut up. I am a Hyuga."

Slap

One of the branch members backhanded Naruto across the face. The other two members took this as an invitation to also attack the boy, and the three started to savagely beat the young boy.

"Naruto-san," called out Hinata from the back door. "I'm ready to play again my father didn't need me."

"Shit," whispered one of the Hyuga branch members. "Let's get out of here."

Hinata arrived at the clearing just as the branch members left. "Naruto!" Hinata yelled as she rushed to his bleeding body. His nose was broken as well as one of his arms. Cuts littered his body and blood covered part of his head. Hinata rushed back to the house to get her father.

LLLLLLLLLLLL

Naruto woke up on a hospital bed. The room around him was painted a bright white, two chairs were up against his bed as if two people had been waiting by his bed for a period of time. Hiashi walked into the room, causing Naruto to sit up.

"Where am I? What happened? Why can't I remember what happened?"

"You are at the Konoha hospital. You were attacked by a few overzealous branch members who have been dealt with. Don't worry they won't be giving you any more problems-ever. The reason you can't remember is because you suffered a serious concussion, causing you brief memory loss of that time period."

"Is Hinata-chan all right?"

"Yes, she is all right. In fact, she is the one who found you and got you help."

"Oh," said Naruto. After a few moments of silence, Naruto decided to speak up again. "Uncle Hiashi. Am I-… Never mind." Naruto quickly looked down out of embarrassment.

"It's okay, Naruto. You can ask me."

"Well the thing is…Am I…Am I a Hyuga?"

"Of course you are. Why would you ask that?"

"Well, it's just that I don't look like any of the other Hyugas. I've got blond hair and blue eyes. And when they were attacking me, they said that I'm not a real Hyuga.'

Hiashi sighed: he knew he would have to have this talk with Naruto eventually. "Naruto, during the Kyuubi attack 5 years ago, the Nine-Tailed Fox killed your mother and your father. After that, I took you in and adopted you. Although you may not have the blood of a Hyuga, you are still a true Hyuga."

Naruto held a small smile after this explanation, but his questions were not all gone.

"Did you know my parents?"

Hiashi frowned at this. He wanted to tell Naruto about his father and all of the great accomplishments he achieved, but he could not due to the Hokage's law. "No, I didn't know them."

"Oh, okay." Naruto said. Although he still held his smile, one could tell that his mood soured.

The two sat in silence for several minutes. As Hiashi turned to leave, Naruto asked one last question. "Uncle Hiashi. Why did they call me a demon?"

Hiashi's face saddened at Naruto's statement and also at the fact that some people could be so ignorant. "Because some people need someone to blame their problems on." Hiashi stated before exiting the room.

LLLLLLLLLLLL

Hinata came to visit Naruto in the hospital the next day. Upon seeing him and the various bandages around his body, Hinata immediately rushed forward and gave Naruto a big hug.

"Hinata-chan, even though I like your hug, it kind of really hurts."

"S-sorry N-Naruto-san." Hinata blushed a deep shade of red and started poking her fingers together.

"Hinata-chan, we're friends right?"

"H-hai Naruto-san."

"Then you should call me Naruto-kun, right?"

Hinata wondered how he could be so upbeat and happy after he got attacked, but he was always like that and that was one of the things that she likes the most about Naruto. His confidence seemed to rub off on her to because she always felt more confident whenever he was around. "H-hai Naruto-sa- I mean –kun."

LLLLLLLLLLLL

As Naruto walked home with Hiashi and a few Hyuga guards, he looked around in awe at the village. This was his first time outside the Hyuga compound: Hiashi didn't let him leave for some reason. As he walked, he heard a few people whispering about him.

"Is that him?"

"Who?"

"That boy. Isn't he the de-"

"Shhhh. You know you can't talk about that. It's against the Hokage's law."

Naruto wondered what they weretalking about, but quickly forgot about it, as he smelled something delicious. There was a big food stand that read "Ichiraku's Ramen." Naruto was about to go up and order some before-

"Naruto, come. We need to return to the Hyuga compound."

Naruto started turned towards Hiashi, and took one look back at the food stand before running after Hiashi.

**Here's chapter number two. The next one should be up within the next day. Once again, reviews are appreciated and so was the one flame I got (for lols). Action is coming up in the next chapter for any wondering.**


	3. Age 7-Trouble

"Hey Hinata-chan. Do you want to play?"

Naruto is now 7 years old. Since his recent birthday, Hiashi has allowed Naruto to start practicing low level jutsus, giving him the basics for doing the henge and the clone jutsu.

"S-sure Naruto-kun. W-what d-do you w-want t-to do?"

"Do you want to train?"

"S-sure Naruto-kun."

Smiling, Naruto took Hinata's hand, eliciting a deep blush from said girl, and led her out into the Hyuga training area. "Okay Hinata, you first. Try to do the clone jutsu."

Hinata made a hand sign, and a copy of Hinata looking sick and with green hair appeared next to Hinata. The image dispelled once Hinata released the jutsu. A slightly out of breath Hinata looked away from Naruto due to her failure.

"Hinata-chan, that was great!" exclaimed Naruto. "I'm sure that with a little more practice you'll have it down in no time."

"Th-thank you N-Naruto-kun," Hinata said while poking her fingers together.

"Okay, now do the henge and transform into me. Just imagine every detail about me and transform into it."

Hinata turned a deep shade of red while thinking of Naruto's every detail and subsequently passed out.

"Why did she pass out?" asked a clueless Naruto. He walked up to where Hinata was and waved his hand over her face. "Hinata-chan. Hinata-chan. HINATA-CHAN!"

Hinata woke up, looking around a few times before blushing once again in embarrassment. "S-sorry Naruto-kun. M-may be you sh-should g-go first w-with th-this jutsu."

"Okay, Hinata-chan." Naruto said full of confidence before making a hand sign. "Transform." Smoke covered his body before a figure similar to Hinata appeared out of the smoke. The copy wasn't exact, but it could pass as Hinata's sister. Naruto held the jutsu for a few seconds before he poofed back into his normal form. Naruto seemed to have an affinity of the henge, while being completely terrible at the clone jutsu. "Aww, I was so close that time. With a little more practice I'll get it down for sure."

After a few more practice attempts by both Hinata and Naruto at both jutsus, Naruto turned to Hinata. "Do you want to stop practicing jutsus now and play hide-and-go-seek?"

"S-sure Naruto-kun."

LLLLLLLLLLLL

Naruto and Hinata returned inside both smiling and laughing.

"Hinata."

Hinata immediately straightened up at her name. "Yes, father?"

"I will be gone tonight. A representative from Kumo has come and wishes to create a treaty with us. I have been requested to help the Hokage on this matter. A branch member will still be here if you have any problems."

"H-hai father."

"Yeah, Uncle Hiashi. We'll be fine until tomorrow. You don't have to worry about us."

Hiashi smiled at the boy's confidence; it is so much like his father's was.

LLLLLLLLLLLLLL

Later that night, around one in the morning, Naruto knocked on Hinata's door. Hinata awoke from the knock before telling the person that they could enter. Naruto walked in.

"Hi Hinata-chan."

"Naruto-kun. What a-are y-you doing in m-my room so late a-at n-night." Hinata blushed at some of the possibilities.

"Well," Naruto said sheepishly while rubbing the back of his head. "I kind of thought that I heard some noises outside, and I got kind of scared. Do you mind if I sleep in here with you?"

"N-no Naruto-kun. I don't mind." Hinata then moved over to give him a spot on the bed next to her. Naruto smiled and jumped into the bed with her.

Hinata fell asleep soon after with a blush on her face However, Naruto could not fall asleep because he kept jumping at shadows. Hinata snuggled up next to him in her sleep.

"This is her room." someone outside Hinata's room whispered. "Let's get her and then get out of here. I'd rather fail the mission than get caught by her father."

Naruto, still awake, heard all of this.

"Hinata-chan," he whispered. "Get up."

Hinata woke on Naruto's chest before jumping off of him with a deep blush.

"Hinata-chan," Naruto continued to whisper with urgency. "Quick, hide under your bed!"

Hinata heard the sense of urgency in his voice, so she quickly followed his orders. Naruto then made a hand sign and henged into Hinata, or his close version of Hinata, and feigned sleep.

The two Kumo ninja who were outside Hinata's door previously snuck into the room.

"Are you sure this is her? She looks slightly different than her picture."

"The picture is old. She probably changed slightly in that time. Just put the genjutsu on her and get out of here."

The Kumo nin made a handsign, and Naruto henged as Hinata felt a forced sleep being enforced upon him. Hinata just hid under her bed all this time, too frightened to do anything.

"I've got her. Let's go." The two nin jumped out the window.

Hinata, now that the danger was gone, got up and rushed to raise alarm.

LLLLLLLLL

Hiashi was looking over the peace treaty proposal with Sarutobi when a Hyuga branch member barged in. "I apologize Hokage-sama, but two Kumo nin have kidnapped Naruto."

"What?" Hiashi and Sarutobi cried out at the same time. "How could this happen."

The amount of killing intent started to make the Hyuga branch member sweat. "Well, um ,sir. Apparently they were trying to kidnap Lady Hinata. For some reason, Naruto was in the room and henged as Lady Hinata to save her. The Kumo nin took Naruto instead thinking it was Lady Hinata."

"Hokage-san," Hiashi stated. "I am going to pursue these ninja immediately. Send a backup of ANBU as soon as possible."

"Wait," commanded Sarutobi, but it was too late. Hiashi already leaped out the window after the Kumo nin. "Uggh, Fox." Sarutobi commanded as a fox ANBU appeared from nowhere. "Get a team of ANBU together and pursue Hiashi and Naruto immediately."

"Hai." said the ANBU as he disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

Sarutobi took out some sake. "This is going to be a long night."

**That was chapter three. Once again reviews are appreciated. It might be another two days or so before another chapter is up. This chapter was going to be typed tomorrow, but I figured I'd get it up ASAP. KyuubiSagemode out.**


	4. Age 7-Trouble Continued

The full moon shines down upon the silent scene. A ninja wearing all black, a mask covering his face, ran through the outskirts of Konoha carrying a young girl in his arms. He looks around; sweat dripping down the side of his face. He needs to find a place to stash the Hyuga brat before he gets caught: the Hyugas have surely found out about the kidnapping by now and have raised the alarm. Seeing no pursuers, the ninja continues to run.

The ninja feels a large amount of killing intent coming his way, which forces him to stop his movement and search for the source. A large man, obviously a Hyuga walks out one hundred feet from the enemy nin.

"Ah. Hiashi Hyuga. I knew you would come after your daughter," the nin in black stated confidently, although he was sweating on the inside. Although he knew he was a strong ninja, Hiashi Hyuga was not someone you wanted to pick a fight with, especially not after you kidnapped his daughter.

Despite his obvious anger, Hiashi gave the enemy a small smile and formed a hand sign. "You don't have my daughter, but you did kidnap a Hyuga, for which the punishment is death." The genjutsu on Naruto released as well as his henge, causing Naruto to revert back to his own appearance and wake up.

The enemy nin, caught completely off-guard by the information that he had the wrong Hyuga, took his eyes off Hiashi and looked at the boy in his arms. That was all the opening that Hiashi needed.

Hiashi sped in, delivering a palm thrust to the nin's heart. The nin turned his head to Hiashi, but it was too late. He coughed up blood and fell. Hiashi caught Naruto and, to ease the boy's panic, put a mild genjutsu on him.

Hiashi reached down and grabbed the assailant's mask before pulling it up. An ANBU squad leaped down.

"Hiashi-sama, we heard the battle and rushed here immediately. Do you need any assistance?"

"No, the assailant is dead. Please take the body to the Hokage. I will be taking the boy home." Hiashi then leaped off towards the Hyuga compound.

The ANBUs walked over to the dead body. Upon seeing the face, one of the members gasped.

"What? Who is it?"

"It's the Kumo nin who came to make the treaty."

"That piece of shit. He probably never even cared about the treaty. This was most likely his real mission. Let's get the body back to the Hokage as soon as possible."

The ANBU took the body and leaped off. A dark cloud moved in front of the full moon, shrouding the village momentarily in darkness.

LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

"Hey Hinata-chan, do you want to play hide-and-go-seek?"

That was one of the things Hinata admired about Naruto. It hasn't even been a full day since he was kidnapped, but he was still as upbeat and energetic as ever.

"U-um, I-I c-can't today Naruto-k-kun. F-father said t-to s-stay inside t-today."

"Okay, that's fine. We can hang out here instead."

As they were walking through the halls, they noticed the Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, walking by with a few ANBU escorts. Sarutobi noticed Naruto also and smiled. "Hello Naruto. Are you doing well?"

"Uh, hai, Hokage-sama." Naruto said very respectfully.

"That's good to hear."

A door opened to show Hiashi and a few Hyuga elders. "We are ready to see you now Hokage-sama."

Before Sarutobi left, he turned to wave at Naruto. "It was good to see you Naruto."

After he left, Naruto stood there slightly confused. 'Why was the Hokage here and how did he know my name? O well, it's probably nothing.'

"Hey Hinata-chan, let's keep playing."

LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

That night, Naruto was lying in his bed, unable to fall asleep. Although he appeared confident and unfazed by the previous night's events, Naruto was still only a kid, and irrational ideas of people storming in and kidnapping him or, even worse, Hinata were keeping him up.

A young Hyuga heiress, kept up by similar worries, stood outside Naruto's door arguing with herself. 'He's probably sleeping and I don't want to wake him. But I'm too afraid to lie in my room alone all night. Uggh.'

Eventually her unwillingness to spend the night alone trumped her embarrassment at possibly waking Naruto and having to explain the situation, and she knocked on his door.

"Come in. Oh, Hinata-chan. What are you doing still awake?"

"W-well, I-I was k-kind o-of t-too scared to f-fall a-asleep, and I w-was wondering i-if I-I c-could s-sleep with y-you t-tonight."

"Of course you can. Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to you," said an outwardly confident Naruto, although he was relieved internally that he had someone to spend the night with.

Hinata blushed a light shade of red. "Thank you N-Naruto-kun."

LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

Two days later, Naruto was walking through the halls of the Hyuga compound aimlessly.

"I wonder why Hinata-chan couldn't play today."

As he was walking, he noticed Hiashi walking out of a branch member's room. 'That's weird. Usually Uncle Hiashi just summons the branch members.'

Curious, Naruto walked towards the room to take a look inside. He stopped, however, at the muffled sounds of someone crying. Naruto peeked inside, and saw a young boy, a little older than himself, broken down on his bed. Naruto recognized the boy. He was often walking around the Hyuga Mansion with his father, always with a smile on his face. He had also seen him at a few of Hinata-chan's training sessions that Naruto had been allowed to observe.

"Why did they have to waste your life, father? Why? Why are we cursed to protect the Main House. Why has fate deemed us to be the slaves of them, why has fate been so cruel?""

Naruto was frozen outside the room. 'Slaves to the Main House? What is he talking about?' As the sobbing continued from inside, Naruto decided it would probably be best if he left. However, he couldn't get the boy's words out of his head. 'Slaves to the Main House?'

**That was the next chapter. I wasn't expecting to get it up this early, but I'm really busy tomorrow with sports activities, and I didn't want to go two days in a row without updating. Once again, reviews are appreciated. **


	5. Time to Learn

**Quick note to NaruHinalover20: Naruto was adopted by Hiashi, so he is in the Hyuga Main House, but Hiashi chooses a successor because the Hyuga Main House justifies the seal by saying that it is so they can protect the secrets of the Byakugan. Naruto doesn't have the Byakugan, so Hiashi couldn't possibly justify giving him the seal without others realizing that the seal is just a means to enslave the branch members.**

**LLLLLLLLLLLLL**

Beep, Beep. Naruto reaches over and turns off the alarm clock and groggily gets up. All of a sudden, realization hits Naruto, causing him to jump up and down in excitement.

"Yeah, today I get to start training in the Gentle Fist," Naruto yelled as he hurried to get dressed. Hinata has already been practicing the Gentle Fist for several years. Normally, Hyugas start their training when they activate their Byakugan. This is because for many of the Gentle Fist techniques to be effective, the user needs to use their Byakugan to either see the tenketsu points or to see their chakra flow. However, since Naruto will never activate the Byakugan, Hiashi has allowed a special exception for him, allowing him to start training in their taijutsu forms. A juken strike at the right areas would still be able to cause heavy internal damage possibly leading to death even if the user couldn't see the enemy's chakra points or close tenketsu.

At the training room, Naruto started practicing the basic forms and the juken strike while Hinata sparred with a branch member. Naruto was slow in picking juken strike. Apparently, having the Byakugan helped immensely with the juken strikes because the user needed to force their chakra into a thin strike, a process much easier if one could see one's chakra to fix it.

"No, your chakra still isn't precise enough," instructed the branch member assigned to help Naruto with his training.

Naruto was quickly becoming frustrated with his failures, so he looked over at Hinata's sparring for a quick break.

Hinata was fending off an assault by a branch member around 19 in age. Hinata parried a strike from the left and barely dodged the follow up kick. However, she was too slow to block or dodge the next strike. The branch member thrust out his left palm, hitting Hinata on her shoulder and sending her to the floor.

Hiashi, who had been observing the spar, squinted his eyes and frowned at his daughter's failure. Hinata, seeing her father's disappointment, looks down with a defeated look in her eyes.

"Come on Hinata, get up. Don't worry, I'm sure you'll get him this time," cheered Naruto from the sidelines.

Hinata looked at Naruto, his overwhelming confidence in her clearly evident. 'I'll do it for you, Naruto-kun.' Hinata got back up and got in her stance, a determined look in her eyes replacing her usual scared one.

The branch member she had been sparring with rushed forward, striking out with two quick jabs. However, instead of going on the defensive as she usually did, Hinata parried the two blow without backing up. After the second parry, she sent out an attack of her own, a juken strike hitting the branch member in the left thigh.

The branch member, losing the use of that leg, dropped down on his knee. His eyes widened with realization of what happened. The girl had never gave an attack that got close to passing his defense, let alone land a hit.

"Well done Hinata. That is how the heir to the Hyuga clan should fight. You may be done with your training for today. Naruto, you may leave as well," declared Hiashi before he left the room. Although his voice sounded indifferent, a smile could clearly be seen on his lips before he left.

"Great job, Hinata. I knew you could do it."

"Th-thank you N-Naruto-kun."

LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

Later that day, Hinata and Naruto sat on the porch, watching the sunset. Although the kidnapping was a month ago, Naruto still thought about the event often and how helpless they were.

"You know, Hinata-chan. We're going to be the two strongest ninjas in the village when we get older."

"I-I don't know N-Naruto-kun. I-I mean w-we're n-not that s-strong n-now."

"Well even if we're not that strong right now, we'll just work as hard as we need to, and if that doesn't work, then we'll work even harder. I know we can become the best ninjas Konoha has ever seen."

"Oh, Naruto-kun," Hinata whispered to herself, but Naruto's gaze was a thousand miles away.

LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

6 Months Later

Hinata stood there, looking at herself in the mirror. She repeated the same line she had been telling herself for the past half an hour. "You can't stay here forever: it's going to start soon." Looking at the clock, she sees she only has twenty-five minutes until it start. Realizing she had no more time to waste, Hinata took a deep breath and opened her door, jumping slightly when she saw Naruto standing there waiting for her.

"Hi, Hinata-chan. You ready for the first day at the academy?"

Hiashi had finally enrolled Naruto and Hinata in the ninja academy, a day Naruto had been waiting for. Naruto had gotten the basic juken strike down, and wanted to learn some more advanced techniques. However, due to his lack of Byakugan, he was unable to learn more gentle fist styles. Therefore, he hoped that once he entered the academy, he would be able to learn some other techniques to make him more powerful.

"I-I don't kn-know N-Naruto-kun."

"Don't worry," Naruto assured her, flashing his signature smile. "You'll be great." Hinata couldn't help but feel more confident after Naruto's statement.

Hinata and Naruto walked down the path to the academy escorted by three high level branch members. Naruto walks with his hands behind his head, his smile covering most of his face.

Hinata steals quick looks at Naruto when they walk, noticing the sparkle in his blue eyes and the smile on his face. 'I wish I could have your confidence, Naruto-kun. I don't want to fail father."

Before they left to go to the academy, Hiashi met them at the front door. His face showed no hints of happiness as they had in the past several months, but was a cold stare.

"You have both improved greatly over the past several months. However, you must keep improving. Mediocrity at the academy will not be accepted. You are both Hyuga, and you will excel and be the best. Is that clear?"

Even though her relationship with her father had improved greatly in the past months, Hinata was worried that if she wasn't the best at the academy, then their relationship would go back to when Hiashi would give her harsh criticisms and look at her every action under scrutiny.

As he was walking, Naruto turned and looked at Hinata, who was looking down at the ground, her thoughts a thousand miles away.

"You don't have to worry about anything, Hinata-chan. You'll be the best at the academy. I know it."

Hinata looked at Naruto and blushed, embarrassed that he saw her unease. "Th-thank y-you."

When they arrive at the academy, the branch members escort them to their room and depart. Naruto takes one look at Hinata, grabs her hand, and opens the door and leads her into the room. At the Hyuga compound, Hinata and Naruto had been instructed on the other clans in Konoha as part of their education.

As they look around, they take in the scene. A boy they pin as an Inuzuka plays with his dog. A boy sitting in the corner of the classroom has his head down on the desk snoring; a Nara. Next to him, a plump boy dressed in red, probably an Akimichi, snacks on a bag of chips. On the other side of the room, and Aburame sat by himself; the bugs creeped the other students out.

Naruto then notices the boy in the third row surrounded by a bunch of girls and gives him a glare. An Uchiha. The Uchiha were rivals with the Hyugas. While some of the Hyuga were friends with some Uchihas, the political action the Uchiha had taken in the past against the Hyuga left a sour taste in Naruto's mouth.

As Naruto looks around some more, he couldn't place any of the other children there with a clan just based off appearances.

As Naruto looked around, Hinata just stood there poking her fingers together. 'How can I succeed when there are so many children from clans here? They're bound to be more powerful than normal students.'

Naruto's voice snapped her out of her worry. "Come on Hinata-chan, I see a couple of seats up there." Naruto takes her hand, once more causing a blush from said girl, and leads her to the back of the room, stopping next to a kid Naruto couldn't place with a clan.

"Hi, I'm Toshiro Akama."

"Hi, I'm Naruto Hyuga and this is my best friend Hinata Hyuga."

"H-hi."

"Oh, Hyugas. There's a Hyuga on my mom's team. She's a ninja too. It's funny though, I haven't seen many Hyugas with blond hair and blue eyes."

"Oh well, the thing is-"

Naruto was cut off by someone entering the room. "Hello, everyone. I am Iruka, your new sensei. I will be your sensei for the next several years. We'll start off class with introductions. You, in the front row…Shikimaru. Tell everyone your name and your hopes for the future."

Shikimaru lifted up his head, opened his mouth, and said, "Pass" causing everyone in the room to sweat drop.

"Okay…we'll move on."

"I'm Chouji Akimichi. When I get older, I want to be a good clan leader and improve my clan techiniques."

As more people gave their introductions, Hinata got increasingly worried. She didn't want to give a bad answer. She thought about giving the answer that the other girls gave (marrying Sasuke) but immediately shot it down. Too soon, her turn cam up.

Hinata stood up and started poking her fingers together. "I-I'm Hinata H-Hyuga, a-and I-I… A-and I-I…" Naruto reached over and grabbed one of her hands to calm her, causing Hinata to blush but also serving its purpose. "And I-I w-want to b-become m-more powerful a-and change m-my clan. I-I a-also w-want to impress a-a c-certain someone." Hinata added, quickly glancing at Naruto.

Naruto frowned. 'Why does everyone want to impress the Uchiha?'

Naruto stood up and declared," I'm Naruto Hyuga and I want to become the strongest ninja in the Leaf so I can protect the people I care about." Naruto sat down smiling, looking at Hinata. Hinata blushed at his statement but was inwardly cheering. 'He cares about me!'

After all of the introductions were done, Iruka took charge of the class.

"Ok, everyone. Open to page one in your textbooks."

'Yes, I can finally start learning ninja stuff.'

**That was chapter 5, my longest chapter yet by far. These chapters are mostly just laying the groundwork for the relationships in the story, but don't worry, there will be a lot of action later on. Once again, reviews are appreciated.**


	6. School Time

It was a bright day and Naruto, Hinata and the three branch members escorting them walked towards the academy. Naruto had his hands behind his head and was grinning like a maniac. The first two days had been pretty boring, but today they would be doing evaluations on their abilities and he could finally compare himself to his classmates.

Naruto turns to say something to Hinata, but he sees that she is laggings behind the group. Naruto slows his pace and walks next to her. Hinata doesn't even notice his arrival, however; she is looking down at the ground, worrying.

'What if I do badly at the evaluations today? I don't want to fail father again.'

"Come on Hinata, we're going to be late to class," said Naruto as he took her hand and lead her on towards the academy. 'Naruto-kun is holding my hand again,' Hinata blushes, her worries temporarily forgotten.

Now that Naruto and Hinata know their room, the branch member escort drops them off at the door to the academy. Naruto, still holding Hinata's hand, leads her to their room and opens it. Walking inside, he sees the same scene that they've been greeted with the past two days. Kiba was playing with Akamaru, Shikamaru was sleeping on his desk, Chouji was snacking on some chips, and fangirls, lead by Sakura and Ino, were fawning over the Uchiha. Naruto sweat drops. 'Are they going to do the same things every day?'

Naruto shakes off this thought and, with Hinata, walks over by Shino and sits down.

**Flashback-Yesterday (second day at the academy)**

Naruto and Hinata walk into the classroom, seeing the same scene as the previous day. The two Hyugas walk towards the back of the classroom.

"Hi Toshiro," said Naruto reaching for the chair next to him.

"You can't sit here." Stated Toshiro, giving Naruto a glare similar to the villagers Naruto passes on his trek to the academy.

"What? Why? Is someone else sitting here?" Naruto asked, holding his hand above his eyes, searching for the person who was sitting there.

"No, you just can't sit here. The seat is free if Hinata-san would like to sit here, but you can't."

"What? Why?" Naruto asked, genuinely confused at Toshiro's drastic change in attitude towards him in a day.

"My mom told me about you. She said you're a threat and that I should stay away from you…among other things."

"What? I don't even know your mom."

Naruto then realized that Toshiro was pulling a prank on him; it's the only explanation. Naruto laughed and reached for the chair once more.

"I said you can't sit here," Toshiro practically yelled.

Naruto, sensing the hatred in Toshiro's voice, glared back at him.

"I-it's o-okay Naruto-kun. L-Let's j-just find somewhere e-else to s-sit."

Naruto glared at Toshiro for several more seconds before turning to Hinata. "Fine."

Naruto turned around with Hinata and looked for somewhere else to sit. As they looked around, most of the open chairs were located next to kids giving Naruto similar glares as Toshiro.

"You may sit next to me if you wish," spoke up Shino, noticing the Hyugas' dilemma.

Naruto smiles and holds out his hand. "Naruto Hyuga. This is Hinata Hyuga."

"I-It's nice to m-meet you."

"Likewise."

Naruto and Hinata sit down, Naruto sitting closest to Shino.

"Hm, that's odd. My insects are telling me your chakra is…unusual. Do you have a bloodline?"

"Not that I know of."

"Then this is most peculiar."

**Flashback End  
**

Just after Naruto and Hinata sat down Iruka entered the classroom. "Okay everyone, today ew are going to do basic assessments. We will test your taijutsu and weapon skills. If any of you know ninjutsu, there will be a time where you can demonstrate that. At the end of the testing, a class ranking will be produced."

A kid raised his hand, and after Iruka called on him asked, "Iruka-sensei, what's the point of these class rankings?"

Iruka smiled. "I'm glad you asked. These rankings are used to determine the strengths and weaknesses of everyone, so when we make teams, we are able to balance out a team member's weaknesses with another's strengths. This helps to produce a balanced team. These rankings are also used as reports to your parents so they can keep track of your progress and how you're doing. Are there any more questions? No? Okay then, everyone head outside for the weapons skills assessment."

Once the students are outside, Iruka has them crowd around a tree with five targets lined up vertically.

"Okay, for this part of the assessment, you will all line up 20 yards away and throw the weapon at the center target. Because this is the first time you are doing this, you will only have to throw one kunai." Iruka looked around for someone to go first. "Ah, Shikimaru you can go first."

Shikimaru walked up to the line and takes out a kunai. He winds back and throws the kunai. The kunai sails through the air, before landing on the ground, about three feet away. Iruka sweat drops. "I'll stop nominating you to go first for stuff."

Hinata was nominated to go next. As she takes her kunai, her hand is shaking.

"Yeah, Hinata-chan. You can do it!" shouted Naruto from the sideline.

Hinata's hand stopped shaking, and she activated her Byakugan, giving her better accuracy and aim. She winds back and launches the kunai, burying itself in the ring just outside the bulls-eye.

"Way to go Hinata-chan," shouted Naruto, giving Hinata a hug. Hinata immediately blushed a deep shade of red. 'Naruto-kun is hugging me.'

After seeing Hinata's success, Naruto confidently walks up to the line. "I'll get a bulls-eye for sure!" Naruto wound his arm back and let the kunai fly. The kunai sailed, and sailed, and sailed way above the tree, missing it by a mile.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Heh, my bad."

Sauske just muttered, "Dobe" from the sideline. Sasuke casually walked up to the line and flicked his kunai, hitting the bulls-eye dead center. He then proceeded to walk away casually, making all the girls swoon.

"Sasuke-kun's so cool."

"Way to go Sasuke-kun."

Naruto just glared at Sasuke. 'That Uchiha thinks he can make me look stupid. I'll show him at the taijutsu fight.'

When Shino's turn came up, he had his bugs carry the kunai to the target, hitting the bulls-eye. Iruka sweat drops again. "I guess that works."

After everyone was done, Iruka said, "Okay, next up is taijutsu. Everyone head over to the sparring rink."

As everyone circled around the rink, Iruka said, "Okay first match: Shino vs. Toshiro."

Toshiro walked into the rink, his cockiness evident as he fist pumped at his friends. Shino walked into the rink, his hands in his pockets like always.

"Begin."

As soon as the match started, Shino's bugs flew out of him, swarming towards Toshiro. Toshiro, frightened by the bugs, curled up into a ball and yelled, "I give, I give."

Shino's bugs retreated back into his body, and he casually walked back out of the circle.

"Winner: Shino. Next up is Naruto vs." Naruto was thinking to himself, 'Sasuke, Sasuke, Sasuke.' "Kiba."

"Awwww."

After Kiba and Naruto are both inside the circle, Iruka declared, "Begin."

Kiba rushed at Naruto immediately, launching wild attacks. Kiba launched wide hooks at Naruto while Akamaru was yipping around his feet. Naruto calmly dodged every attack, slowly backing up while keeping his base. After another wild hook by Kiba, Naruto sees an opening he likes and delivered a leg sweep and took Kiba's legs out from under him. After Kiba hits the ground, Naruto delivers a palm thrust, stopping just above Kiba's forehead.

"Winner: Naruto."

During the whole fight, Naruto's face was serious. However, the moment the match was over, Naruto replaced his seriousness with a huge smile and headed back towards Hinata.

In a couple matches, Hinata's name was called to fight against Sakura. Before Hinata headed to the rink, Naruto gave her a quick hug for good luck. "You can do it Hinata-chan."

Sakura was standing in the ring with a still blushing Hinata as Iruka declared "Begin."

Hinata activated her Byakugan as Sakura rushed forward with her fist above her head, yelling out a batlle cry. When she got within range, Hinata let out four quick jabs, closing Sakura's tenketsu and causing her to faceplant in the dirt. "Winner: Hinata."

A smiling Hinata walked back over to a wildly grinning Naruto. "Great job Hinata-chan."

"Th-thank you, N-Naruto-kun."

When Sasuke's name was called to fight against an obviously weak student Naruto growled, "Why couldn't I fight him. It would be a way better match than this losser."

As Naruto expected, the match was very one-sided. Within seconds of it starting, Sasuke ended the match with a roundhouse kick to the kid's jaw, knocking him out cold. "Winner: Sasuke."

After everyone had sparred once, Iruka said, "Anyone who knows any ninjutsu may demonstrate it now."

Sasuke walks forward confidently. "You may want to back up." Sasuke proceeds to make a few handsigns and yells, "Fire Release: Fireball Jutsu." A fireball of good size and intensity appears in front of sasuke and travels for twenty-five yards before disappearing. Sasuke, slightly out of breath, returns to the circle.

"Oh Sasuke-kun, you're so cool."

"You're the best, Sasuke-kun."

'Why don't I know any cool jutsu like that,' Naruto thought to himself angrily.

"Does anyone else know any ninjutus?"

After a few seconds, a loud sigh could be heard. "It's troublesome, but I know one." Shikimaru walks forward and creates a handsign. His shadow extends and connects with Iruka's shadow, freezing the teacher in place.

"Very good, Shikimaru, but could you release me now? Thanks. If that's it, you can all take a fourty-five minute lunch. The rankings will be out by the end of the day if any of you are wondering."

LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

Hinata worriedly looked up at the clock. 'Oh no. Class is going to end in a minute. What am I going to do?'

"Okay, class. School's over soon. Your parents will have your report cards when you get home." Iruka got out just before the bell rang and a wave of children rushed for the door.

Naruto gets up to leave, but notices Hinata still sitting down poking her fingers together. "Hinata-chan. Hinata-chan."

Hinata snapped out of her thoughts looks at Naruto. "S-sorry Naruto-kun."

"What's wrong?"

"W-well it's j-just that, wh-what if I din't s-score w-well t-today? Wh-what will f-father th-think?"

"Aw, Hinata-chan, you've got nothing to worry about." Stated Naruto. However, he sees that her worries haven't completely disappeared. "You know, we don't have to go home right away. There's this food stand I've been dying to try out for the last several years."

'Naruto-kun is so kind.' "Th-thank you Naruto-kun."

"Okay, let's go." Naruto says as he takes Hinata's hand and leads her out of the school, leaving three confused branch members waiting for them.

As they walk down the street, Naruto notices some people glaring at him and whispering, "That's him. That's the boy."

The two arrive at Ichiraku's, and Naruto says, "Hi. We'd like to order some food please."

The owner of the shop turns around and inspects Naruto, trying to place where he knew the boy from. All of a sudden, realization hits him.

**Flashback-two days ago**

A man walked up to the food stand.

"Welcome to Ichiraku's. What'll it be?"

"Oh, sorry. I didn't come here for food. I came to show you this picture. We have been given information that the boy is enrolling in the ninja academy today. I figured you'd want an updated picture of him in case he comes by looking for food."

**Flashback End**

The owner of the ramen stand gives Naruto a big smile. "What would you and your girlfriend like?"

"It's Naruto Hyuga and Hinata-chan isn't my girlfriend."

Hinata is standing frozen in place, still holding Naruto's hand. 'Girlfriend.'

"Sorry," the owner says waving his hands in front of his face. "What'll it be then?"

"Ummm, I'll have a bowl of miso. Hinata-chan, what do you want?" Naruto sees her frozen still. "Uhh, she'll have a miso too then."

"Ayame, two bowls of Miso," the owner yells to his daughter before turning back to Naruto. "By the way, I'm Teuchi Ichiraku."

LLLLLLLLL

"Order Up!"

Naruto immediately starts digging into his food, while Hinata eats hers with perfect table manners. When Hinata finishes, she looks up at Naruto, seeing tears in his eyes. "This could be the best thing I've ever eaten."

Seeing Hinata finished and reaching for her money, Naruto stops her. "Hinata-chan, I've got it." Hinata, still worried about her father, doesn't think much of it.

LLLLLLLLLLLLLL

When Naruto and Hinata arrive at their home, Hiashi is there waiting for them. "I received your report cards today…You both did as should be expected," he says. As he was walking away, Naruto could've sworn he saw a smile on his lips.

Hinata, overcome with happiness that she succeeded, departed to her room. Once insided, she realizes what happened.

"Me and Naruto went out for dinner, and he payed. Was this a…date?" Hinata blushes and, after a couple more seconds of thinking about it, passes out on her floor."

**Well that was the next chapter in Naruto Hyuga; they seem to keep getting longer. The reviews on the mistakes I made in the last chapter were appreciated. Anything else that you point out I will try to fix as soon as possible. KyuubiSagemode out.**


	7. End of School

**KyuubiSagemode: Sorry for the long wait for the update. School has started back up and I've got baseball every day and a basketball league two days a week, so updates won't happen as frequently. I'll try to update at least once a week though. I've actually had this chapter outlined for a while now, but finding time to write it has been the problem.**

**LLLLLLLLLLLL**

Time Skip- 2 years

Over the past two years, Naruto and Hinata have been working very hard at the academy. The classes have taught chakra theory, history, and jutsu theory. In class, Naruto and Hinata have worked diligently- taking notes and working hard. Naruto did get bored sometimes and play the occasional practical joke, but he was good enough where no one knew it was him.

Naruto and Hinata have been working hard out of class too. They would often review what they have learned in class and study for any tests. A few times a week, Hinata and Naruto would also spar and work on their taijutsu forms. Their spars have really paid off. They are both near the top of the class in taijutsu. Naruto has beaten every student consistently except for Sasuke who he has split his matches with. Hinata has also consistently beat every student in the class except for Sasuke, who she only has two wins against, and Naruto (but that doesn't really count because she couldn't bring herself to go all out against him). She has also lost a couple matches against Shino when his bugs drained her too much before she could close in on him.

Although he has gotten bored periodically, Naruto has enjoyed himself over the past couple years. He had rarely been allowed to leave the Hyuga Compound when he was younger. Hinata was really his only friend. He hung out with some branch children sometimes, but usually the branch children and the main house children did not mingle unless there was official business. But now that he attended the academy, Naruto was able to make new friends.

Even though many of the kids looked at him with scorn- the reason for which Naruto didn't know-, Naruto was able to make several friends at the academy, the main one being Shin because he sat by the boy for the last two years. He didn't talk much, but Naruto over time found out that behind his distant, logical personality was a nice boy who cared for his friends…He thinks.

Naruto has also made friends with Shikamaru Nara and Chouji Akimichi. They were both nice to him and were interesting to hang to with. However, Shikamaru only ever wanted to sleep and watch clouds. Chouji semed to only want to eat or hang out with Shikamaru. So while they were pleasant enough to hang around with, Naruto didn't spend too much time with them. Overall, Shino was the person he hung out with the most, not including Hinata of course.

Naruto also enjoyed his new teachers a lot. The branch members that often taught him at home were usually very serious and only focused on the training. In contrast, his main teacher was not like that at all. Iruka-sensei was fun and made his teaching entertaining. He would occasionally talk about personal things too.

Naruto's other teacher, who arrived on his fifth day at the academy, would help Iruka out with the class. Mizuki was also pretty nice. He would smile at Naruto and tell jokes. Even though Mizuki seemed nice and always acted friendly towards Naruto, something seemed off about him to Naruto. Naruto at times would wish he possessed the Byakugan because when he turned around after talking to Mizuki he could swear he felt a glare being pointed at the back of his head. But when Naruto turned around, Mizuki would just be sitting there, smiling.

Despite this, Naruto's overall experience over these last two years has been great except for one thing: he still didn't know any powerful jutsu!

**Flashback- several months ago**

The time of the month came up again where anyone who knew any ninjutsu could show it to the class. Like every time before, no one walked forward except for Sasuke. Shikamaru was too lazy to show anything after his first time.

Sasuke walked in front of the class and got in a stance. He shot Naruto a smirk before creating a few handsigns and yelling, "Fire Release: Fireball Jutsu!" A big fireball came out where Sasuke was standing- his most powerful one yet. Slightly out of breath, Sasuke turned and looked right at Naruto with a smirk on his lips.

This always made Naruto fume. 'Why does the Uchiha know such a powerful jutsu when I don't?' This settled it. 'I'll find someone to teach me a cool jutsu that's better than the Uchiha's. That'll wipe that smirk off of his face.'

When class ended, Naruto stayed around to talk to Iruka. "Hey, Iruka-sensei?"

"Yes, Naruto? Did you want something?"

"Um…yeah. I was kind of wondering if you could teach me a cool jutsu like Sasuke has."

Ah typical Naruto. "Well Naruto, I would, but the thing is-"

"Pleeeeease." Naruto was very excited to learn a cool jutsu.

"Well, Naruto, I can't." Iruka stated giving him a smile. "See, we're not allowed to teach you anything but the academy jutsu until you are a genin. Sorry."

Naruto looked down in disappointment, but then a thought struck him. "But the other kids know jutsu like Sasuke and Shikamaru."

"Well, clans are allowed to start training their kids as soon as they want, which includes teaching them jutsu."

"Oh, so I can't learn any cool jutsu yet?"

"At least not from me, Naruto Hyuga." Naruto was looking down at the floor, very disappointed he would have to wait until graduation to learn a cool jutsu. "People can only learn jutsus from their clans before they graduate Naruto Hyuga. _Hyuga. HYUGA."_

"Yeah, it stinks." Iruka face-palmed. "Oh, wait. I'm part of a clan."

Iruka smiled and opened his mouth to say something, but Naruto had already run off.

LLLLLLLLLL

Hiashi was quietly meditating in his room when he heard a knocking on his door. "You may enter." Hiashi looks up to see Naruto walk into his rom.

"Hey Uncle Hiashi."

"Yes, Naruto. Did you need something."

"Yeah. The thing is that other kids in my class know some jutsu, and I was wondering ,since we're a clan, if you could give me a cool jutsu."

"Naruto, we Hyuga mainly rely on our gentle fist style for battle, so we have not collected many jutsu over the years."

"Aww. Come on Uncle Hiashi. Isn't there anything you can give me?"

"Well, there are a couple jutsu." Hiashi stated with a slight frown. "But they're too powerful to teach to someone of your age." Naruto was about to complain again, but Hiashi held up his hand to silence him. "As soon as you graduate from the academy, you may learn one of them. But I warn you, they are very powerful, so they will be difficult to learn and must not be used lightly."

"Are they more powerful than the Uchiha's fireball jutsu?"

Hiashi smiled at his dislike of the Uchiha. "Oh yes, they are much more powerful."

Naruto smiled brightly. "Thank you thank you thank you!" He gave Hiashi a quick hug and ran away.

**Flashback End**

Every second Friday over the past two years, the class rankings would come out. And every second Friday, Hinata would be very nervous right as the class was about to end. Naruto, being the nice boy that he is, offered t go with Hinata to Ichiraku's after class on these days. There they would sit and have a good time, usually sparking conversations with Ayame and Teuchi.

They would then slowly walk home. During these walks, Naruto would try to distract Hinata with conversation, but her mind was always at their house. When they got home, she would realize that her fears were unfounded: her grades were always "acceptable."

LLLLLLLLLL

Naruto is lying in his bed at night, trying to fall asleep. He hears a knock on his door, and the door slowly opened and Hinata poked her head in. Naruto gave her a smile as this was a slightly common occurrence.

A few times a month since the failed kidnapping, Hinata would come in and ask if she could sleep with Naruto for the night. Naruto always told her it was fine, and that she was always welcome. A couple times, Naruto woke up with Hinata snuggling against his chest. Naruto made the mistake the first time this happened of waking her up.

**Flashback-About a year ago**

Naruto woke up feeling a pressure on his chest. As he came to his senses, he saw Hinata on his chest. Realizing that he must have been asleep when she came in and that she was probably on him on accident, Naruto tried to wake her up. Hinata slowly opened her eyes and groggily asked what he wanted. All of a sudden, she realized what she was doing, shot up out of the bed, yelled out a loud eep and fainted.

Hanabi ran into the room, being the only one to hear the eep, which lead to a very awkward explanation for Naruto.

**Flashback end**

Back in Naruto's bedroom, Naruto asks Hinata if she's scared again. Hinata mumbles something and thinks back to earlier that day.

**Flashback-earlier that day**

Hanabi has started her gentle fist training and has been training alongside Hinata. As Hanabi was going through her forms, Hiashi was watching her and smiling.

"Hinata, you will have to work very hard if you don't want Hanabi to take your spot as clan heir."

**Flashback end**

"What was that, Hinata-chan? I couldn't hear what you said."

"C-can I j-just sl-sleep with y-you t-tonight?"

Naruto realizes something's off, but doesn't' push. "Sure." Naruto makes room on his bed, and Hinata climbs in.

'At least sleeping by Naruto-kun makes me feel better.'

LLLLLLLLLLLL

Time Skip-1 year

Naruto sat back in his chair, staring at the clock, waiting for one more minute to pass.

"Okay, class. I want you to finish your assignments over the weekend. It's less than usual, so I don't want anyone to not do it."

The bell rang, and the class rushed for the door, save for Shikamaru, Sasuke, Naruto, and Hinata who all walked.

Over the past year, Naruto has progressed exceptionally in the academy. He has mastered almost all of the basic jutsu: substitution jutsu, henge, and all of the basic survival jutsu every ninja has to learn. The only jutsu that Naruto has had problems with is the clone jutsu. He has gotten better at it over the past year, but he can't seem to get it down no matter how hard he works on it.

Naruto and Hinata have been around each other a lot more over the past year also- even more than usual. They have hung around with Shino also, getting used to his style, and being able to read his emotions slightly better. Naruto and Hinata would also hang out with Shikamaru sometimes after school. These get-togethers would usually consist of lying around and playing strategy games. During the strategy games, Naruto never even got close to beating Shikamaru. Hinata would usually put up a better effort, but she also never won a game.

Recently, Kiba has started to hit on Hinata. These attempts were usually innocent enough, but for some reason that Naruto wasn't aware of, it always made Naruto's blood boil. Hinata would always shot him down, but he would keep trying.

**Flashback-A couple months ago**

"Come on Hinata-chan, you won't regret it. Our date will be perfect." Kiba said, walking behind Hinata.

"I-I'm s-sorry Kiba-san, b-but I-I do not w-wish t-to go on a-a date w-with you." Hinata stated while continuing to walk.

"You say that now, but you don't know how great the date will be." Kiba said while jogging to catch up. "Come on." He started to reach for Hinata's hand to stop her. Just before his hand reached hers, Naruto's hand shot up and stopped it.

"I believe she said no." stated Naruto angrily while clutching Kiba's hand. "Besides, Hinata deserves better than the dead last." Naruto then let go of Kiba's hand before taking Hinata's and walking away, leaving a dumbfounded Kiba behind them.

Kiba, realizing that he was just insulted and dismissed simultaneously, started to get angry. "You act all mighty like you're special, but everyone knows that you're not really a Hyuga. You don't have any special blood like mine. I'll become way more powerful than you, and then Hinata will definitely choose me! In fact, I'll prove right now I'm better." Kiba then proceeded to get in his fighting stance.

"Do I really have to beat you again?" Naruto asked, turning around slightly. Akamaru whined at his cold tone, knowing what was about to happen to his master.

'Naruto-kun is defending me?' Hinata thought, blushing even though she didn't necessarily condone the two's actions.

Kiba charged at Naruto, but before Kiba knew it, Naruto had his fist into Kiba's stomach, knocking the wind from him and knocking him to the ground. "You will never have my Hinata-chan, dead last."

'His Hinata-chan?'

Naruto, not realizing what he just said, turned, took Hinata's hand, and led her away.

**Flashback end**

Naruto and Hinata have gotten very good at their taijutsu over the past year also. However, it seems that lately Hinata has been worrying about something, especially after her clan training days. It seemed that she came to sleep with Naruto more and more lately.

As they were walking out of class, Naruto turned to Shikamaru to invite him over to the manor to hang out.

"Sure, whatever."

Naruto saw Sasuke walking away by himself. Naruto may have hated the Uchiha, but he still felt sorry for Sasuke. No matter how much he personally despised the Uchiha Clan, he would never have wished for what happened with Itachi's massacre.

Naruto opened his mouth to invite him too, but he couldn't bring himself to speak up. Sasuke turned a corner and was out of sight, taking away the decision from Naruto. 'Oh, well. I'll just hang out with Shikamaru and Hinata-chan."

LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

Time skip- 1 year

Naruto has been doing well at school over the past year. He has learned all of the basics for almost everything. School now basically consisted of battle tactics and world history, mainly covering famous shinobi and famous battles in the ninja world.

Naruto still hasn't gotten down the clone jutsu. He practiced very hard at it, but for some reason, he kept overpowering it and the clones would always come out sickly and green.

Naruto decided to go to Hiashi to ask if he had any pointers for him.

**Flashback- A month ago**

"Uncle Hiashi?"

"Yes, Naruto?"

"I'm having a lot of trouble with the clone jutsu. I keep overpowering it. I was wondering if you could help me out, because making a clone is a requirement to graduate."

"Hmm, I think I know your problem. The thing is, though, if you haven't got it by now, you probably won't be able to get it. I may have a solution though. Go to the Hokage, I'm sure he'll be able to help you."

"Okay, thank you Uncle Hiashi." 'I wonder why the Hokage would care about my problem. Oh well, Uncle Hiashi said he would help.'

LLLLLLLLL

Naruto stood in front of the Hokage's secretary who was currently glaring at him. "Yes, _boy, _do you need something."

Naruto was sweating from the glare she was giving him, but handed over his note from Hiashi anyways that said that he sent him to the Hokage. The secretary frowned after reading the note, but she couldn't argue with a clan head. "Go ahead in."

Naruto walked into the room, causing the Hokage who was looking out the window to turn towards him. "Ah, Naruto. Can I help you with something?" This confused Naruto: why would the Hokage know who he is? Naruto shook it off because a lot of people seemed to know him around the village.

"Hai, Hokage-sama. I was having trouble with the clone jutsu. I seem to always overpower it even though I have practiced it a lot for years. Uncle Hiashi said that you may be able to help me."

"Hmm. Yes. I think I have just the jutsu for you. This jutsu I not allowed to most shinobi because it drains them of their chakra. However, I feel you will not have this problem, so you may learn it if you promise to never teach it to anyone else."

"Hai, Hokage-sama. I promise." Naruto was so excited he didn't even wonder why he was special.

"Good, good. Come back tomorrow; I need to copy down the jutsu onto a scroll."

"Hai, Hokage-sama," Naruto stated as he bowed, then left the room, trying to hide the smile on his face.

'So much potential, just like his father.'

**Flashback End**

LLLLLLLLLLLL

Time skip- 1 year

"Hinata-chan, wake up!" Yelled an excited Naruto, shaking Hinata, waking her from her slumber. "Today's the day we get to take the graduation test!"

Hinata, now twelve, groggily got up and Naruto ran back to his room to get ready. Her hair is now cut short. She rubbed her eyes and went for her wardrobe, grabbing her now usual baggy jacket. Hinata hurried to get dressed because she didn't want to make Naruto wait.

Hinata opened the door to the hallway to see Naruto already waiting for her. Naruto had recently replaced his Hyuga robes for a dark pair of pants with a matching dark T-shirt. On closer inspection, one could see a hint of orange in his clothes.

Naruto and Hinata walked down the road to the academy holding each other's hand. Naruto used to take Hinata's hand and lead her places so much that it ended up being natural for him to hold it whenever he was excited to go somewhere.

At the academy, Hinata waited in her seat nervously poking her fingers together. However, she was not worried for herself, but instead for Naruto. Hinata is confident in her own abilities, at least when it comes to the basic academy jutsu. She is worried for Naruto because although he has mastered almost every jutsu given to him, he hasn't yet mastered the clone jutsu which is one of the ones required to pass.

She looks over to Naruto to see how he is faring and is surprised to see that he is grinning confidently. 'How can he be so confident when he can't perform the clone jutsu?'

"Hinata Hyuga." Calls Iruka.

Hinata walks up to the front of the class and performs each jutsu perfectly and walks back to her seat.

"Naruto Hyuga." Calls Iruka.

Naruto walks up. "Okay, Naruto, preform the henge." Naruto makes a few handsigns and transforms into Iruka perfectly. Mizuki smiles as Naruto does a funny dance in the form of Iruka. "Okay, Naruto, enough." Naruto transformed back into himself.

Mizuki sat on the desk, smiling. This is where his plan would come into place. "Okay Naruto, "said Mizuki. "Now make a clone." 'Now the demon will mess up.'

"I just have to make any clone, right?"

"Yes, yes. Just make a clone." Stated Mizuki, confident that he could not make one.

Naruto made an unusual handsign and yells, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Two solid clones appeared next to Naruto. Mizuki is dumbfounded. The demon brat had just ruined his plans by creating solid clones.

"You just said I had to create two clones, right?" Naruto said sheepishly.

Iruka steps in, "That is what you said, Mizuki."

"But, but, but."

"Naruto, I'm glad to say that you've passed the exam. You are now a ninja of the Leaf."

Naruto walks back to his desk, not caring about the glares sent by the students who hated him and didn't pass. Hinata runs up and gives him a hug before blushing and sitting back down.

"Okay, everyone who has passes show up tomorrow for your team assignments. Those who didn't pass do not have to show up tomorrow for school." Naruto grins wildly and takes Hinata, leading her out of the class, past Kiba who somehow passed the graduation test.

Mizuki just sat on his desk, fuming. His plans are falling apart. Mizuki doesn't have any authority anymore over Naruto, and he has already set his plans in motion. He needs to get the scroll tonight and leave the village somehow.

LLLLLLLLLLLLLL

Naruto and Hinata showed up the next day and sat down in their seats. Iruka comes in the classroom and tells everyone to sit down.

One of the genin in the back speaks up. "Where's Mizuki-sensei?"

"Mizuki was caught breaking into the Hokage's office last night and was killed by Hokage-sama last night. Let that be your final lesson: never betray the Leaf Village. On that note, I will now list of the teams you will be on."

As Iruka read off the list of teams, Naruto gripped Hinata's hand tightly. His biggest fear at the moment was that he and she wouldn't be on the same team.

"Team Seven led by Kakashi Hatake: Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno (Eliciting a scream of joy from Sakura and a moan of disappointment from the other girls) and Kiba Inuzuka."

"What?" Kiba yelled. "Why do I have to be on a team with him?"

"Because you had the lowest scores of the class and Sasuke, although barely, had the highest scores of the class. We were hoping he would balance you out." This elicited a laugh from the class at Kiba's expense.

"Team Eight led by Kurenai Yuhi: Hinata Hyuga, Shino Aburame and…Naruto Hyuga."

Hinata and Naruto looked at each other and smiled before turning to Shino and smiling. They loved their team.

After Iruka was done listing off the teams, he stated," Okay everyone, wait here for your sensei to arrive."

**There was the latest chapter, my longest on yet by a lot. The early years are done, so now the chapters will focus on the missions and the action will begin. The chapters will start to be longer from now on. Once again, reviews are appreciated and I will try to post once a week.**


	8. Sker Sker

Naruto sits at his desk. A slight breeze is coming in from the window; sunlight illuminates the room. Hinata sits to his right calmly, a smile on her face. Her aroma of flowers is slightly noticeable to Naruto. Shino sits to Naruto's right. His face is covered by his jacket. A faint buzzing can be heard around him. His demeanor, like Hinata's, is calm.

Tap tap tap tap tap. Throughout the quiet room, Naruto's excited tapping echoes, attracting the annoyed glares of many who are nervous. Tap tap tap ta-. _Huh?_ Naruto looks down and is surprised to see Hinata gripping his arm. "U-um N-naruto-kun, c-could you maybe s-stop tapping y-your foot? Y-you're making e-everyone nervous."

Naruto, surprised to find that he had been tapping, takes a look around the room. Sakura and Ino are openly glaring at him. Naruto also catches Sasuke out of the corner of his eye sending him a glare too, but whether it is from the tapping or from their mutual dislike Naruto couldn't tell. Naruto turns back to Hinata. "He-he. Sorry, I'm just really excited. What's taking Sensei so long?"

"W-well it's o-only b-been six m-minutes."

"Oh," Naruto stated with a confused look looking at the clock. "I guess it has only been six minutes. I thought it was way more than that." Naruto faces his desk again and catches himself right before he started tapping again and grips the desk instead. As time passed, Naruto's grip gets tighter and tighter on the desk. _'If our sensei doesn't arrive soon, I swear I'll just run out of here and find this Kurenai person and drag her to this room.'_

Just as Naruto was about to follow through on his threat, the door slid open revealing a young woman in her early 20s with long black hair and red eyes. She walks to the front of the room and addresses the class. "I am Kurenai Yuhi, and I am the Jounin sensei leader of Team 8. Naruto Hyuga, Hinata Hyuga, and Shino Aburame- you are with me. Meet out in training ground nineteen." With her address done, Kurenai disappears in a swirl of leaves. After a few seconds of silence, jumps up and yells out," Finally." He grabs Hinata's hand and runs out of the room dragging Hinata behind him.

Naruto and Hinata were already in the training ground when Shino arrived in a slow, methodical walk. The training ground around them is, like most training grounds in Konoha, heavily forested with a few clearings. One of the smaller clearing is where the three Genin decided to wait for their sensei. Now that all three students are gathered, Kurenai jumps down from the trees. "Okay, since everyone's here, how about we start off with introductions. Tell everyone your name, your likes, your dislikes, and your goal for the future. Anyone want to volunteer to go first?"

Naruto practically jumps out of his seat and waves his arm around. "Oh, me me. Pick me!"

Kurenai's sweat dropped. _'This kid passed the academy test?' _"Uh, okay you can go first."

"Hi, my name is Naruto Hyuga. I like training and spending time with my friends, particularly Hinata-chan. I dislike people who talk big but can't back it up. I also dislike Sasuke Uchiha. My goal is to become the strongest ninja the Leaf has ever seen."

"Very good, Naruto-san. Who wants to go next?"

Upon Naruto's nudging, Hinata stood up. "I-I'll go n-next."

Kurenai looks at the young genin looking at the ground and poking her fingers together out of nervousness. "Okay."

"M-my name i-is Hinata Hyuga. I-I like gardening a-and b-being with m-my f-friends. I d-dislike p-people who a-are o-overly judgmental. M-my goal f-for the future i-is t-to change th-the Hyuga c-clan s-system." Done with her speech, Hinata shoots down to her seat on a log with a blush on her face.

"Very good, Hinata-san. Shino you're next."

Shino stands up. "My name is Shino Aburame. I like bugs. I dislike people who are illogical and kill bugs. My goal for the future is to find more bugs to incorporate into the Aburame clan." Now finished with his short introduction, Shino promptly sat down.

"Those were very good introductions everyone." _'Great, I've got an overzealous kid, a young girl who is too nervous to even look at me, and a kid obsessed with bugs. This is going to be a fun team.' _" I feel like I know you all already." Kurenai said with a smile. "Now the next thing we have to discuss is-. Oh." Kurenai stopped her speech mid-sentence when she noticed Hinata raising her hand. "Yes, Hinata?"

"U-um aren't y-you going g-give your i-introduction?"

"Yes. It is only logical that you would follow up our introductions with your own." Shino followed up.

"Yeah. If we had to give introductions, so do you!"

Kurenai's mouth perks up into a small smile. "Sorry, I guess it slipped my mind. My name is Kurenai Yuhi. I like genjutsu and my teammates. I dislike sexists and smoking. My goal for the future is to keep you all safe and make you into successful ninjas. Back to what I was saying before, our last topic of discussion is our test for tomorrow. I know you all took a test to graduate the academy, but that was only to see who had the chance to become genin. Each Jounin sensei gives their team a test to see if they are ready to become genin and then decides whether or not they pass, so you better impress me." Kurenai states with a smile.

Naruto's face is frozen with shock. _'How can she smile so friendly after giving us news like that?' _Naruto snaps out of it and pops up from his seat. "What? That's not fair. We worked so hard to pass the academy's test!"

"Sorry," Kurenai says trying to hold back a smile. "Meet back here at ten tomorrow. Oh, and by the way, 66% of the people who take this test fail." With that statement, Kurenai disappeared in a swirl of leaves, leaving her three students behind.

After a couple moments of silence, Naruto shot up in front of his two teammates. "Don't worry. If they want to pull this bullshit, it won't matter. We'll just push through." Naruto turns toward Shino and they share a glance before Naruto takes Hinata's hand and walks off.

Naruto and Hinata walk through the door of the Hyuga Compound. As they're about to part ways, Hinata turns to Naruto. "U-um Naruto-kun. A-are y-you w-worried at all a-about t-tomorrow's test?"

"Oh, don't worry Hinata-chan. Whatever it is I'm sure that we can get through it together. And if not, we still have Shino to back us up." Hinata smiles. _'Oh, Naruto-kun.'_ Hinata walks in her room and shuts the door. Outside of the door stands Naruto remembering what Kurenai said. _66% of the people who take this test fail._

'_Hm, maybe I should be more worried about this test. If only I knew an awesome jutsu up my sleeve during the test. Oh wait that's right! Hiashi-sama said that he'd give me an awesome jutsu once I passed the academy test. He-he time to go cash in.' _With that thought in mind, Naruto sprints towards Hiashi's room.

Hiashi is meditating in his room. A knock at the door interrupts his thoughts. "Come in." In steps Naruto with a grin on his face.

"Hey Uncle Hiashi. So I was thinking..."

"Yes?"

"You remember when I came in a couple years ago and asked for a new jutsu and you said that I could have one when I graduated the academy? Well can I have my new, cool, super awesome jutsu now?" Hiashi gave a small smile.

"Of course Naruto. I expected you yesterday after you graduated."

"Well," Naruto chuckles. I kind of forgot, I guess.'

Hiashi sweat drops. "Oh... well I've already got the scrolls out. There are seven scrolls I picked out for you. There is at least one of every element except lightning. You may choose only one though."

"Why only one?" Naruto whines.

"I do not believe you are ready for more. You may hurt yourself if you take on too much."

"I promise not to hurt myself. Come on, let me pick two. Please please please please."

"I SAID NO!" This shut Naruto up. He knew not to push Hiashi when he was set in something.

"Sorry Uncle Hiashi." Naruto said with his head down.

"You may pick _one_."

Naruto walks over to the scrolls. He opens the first one and reads the description of the jutsu. "No, this one's not powerful enough." Naruto then opens and reads the second one. "No, I don't really want a fire jutsu." Naruto then opens and reads the third scroll. "Yes, this one's perfect." Naruto runs up to Hiashi. "I want this one."

Hiashi looks at the scroll. "This is a great jutsu, Naruto. But, uh, don't you want to look all of the scrolls to make sure that there isn't a better jutsu that you might want?"

"Nope. This one's perfect. I don't even need to look at the rest of the jutsus."

"Okay, if that's the one you want. Remember: this is a powerful. Not something to play around with."

Naruto's face turned serious. "I understand Uncle Hiashi." Hiashi gave Naruto a slight nod: he knew Naruto could be serious when the time came. Naruto turns and walks out the door. Hiashi watching him leave thought to himself about how much Naruto has matured over the years. The door clicked behind Naruto. "YAHOOOO. I GOT A NEW JUTSU!"

Hiashi sweat drops. _'or maybe he hasn't matured all that much.'_

LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

Next Day

Naruto and Hinata are walking down a street in Konoha. As they walk, the sun shines brightly and a slight breeze blows through their hair. "Hey, Hinata-chan?" Hinata looks up and turns to Naruto. He is walking with a huge smile on his face and his hands behind his head.

"Uh, y-yes N-Naruto-kun?"

"What do you think the test will be?"

"I-I don't kn-know. What d-do y-you think it w-will be?"

"I don't know. Maybe she'll test our strength by getting a big monster out of the Forest of Death and see if we can beat it. Or maybe she'll put us against some bloodthirsty missing nin that they captured. Oh yeah, I bet it's that one! It'll probably be a missing nin who's wanted in four countries, who's slaughtered countless ninja and..." Naruto stops, noticing Hinata looking sick and about to pass out. "He-he, or maybe it'll be a written test. Yeah, I'm sure that'll be it. Don't even sweat it Hinata-chan: you'll be great. Hinata gave Naruto a small smile, but inside she is still very nervous about the test.

Hinata and Naruto arrive at the training ground and they see Shino already waiting for them. Kurenai arrives a few seconds later in a swirl of leaves. "Okay, now that everyone is here, I can start explaining the test. The test to determine whether or not you'll become genin is..."

Naruto is leaning forward in anticipation. "Yes, yes."

"You have to find me."

Naruto face-planted. "WHAT? The test is a game of hide-and-go-seek?"

"Well, yes I guess that's the basic idea. But there are a couple of twists. First of all, you only have one hour to find me. You cannot work together. You will all have to find me on your own. If you help anyone, the whole team fails. And also one more thing. Every team member must find me. If one person doesn't, the whole team fails and goes back to the academy...Go!" Kurenai smiles as her body turns into a tree.

Naruto turns to his teammates. "Eh, so what now?"

"I am sorry Naruto. We are not allowed to help each other." Shino states before jumping off into the woods in search of Kurenai.

"Sh-shino's right Naruto-kun. S-sorry." Hinata too jumps off into the woods.

Naruto, now alone in the clearing, thinks to himself. '_If I were Kurenai-sensei, where would I hide?'_

LLLLLLLLLLLLLL

Shino sits on a tree branch, holding one of his bugs on his finger and listening to it. Shino then forms a handsign and many trees around him disappear revealing Kurenai lazily lying against a tree trunk. Shino jumps down.

"Ah, Shino. It's good to see you. You're the first one here. I believe Hinata should be here soon though."

'_This is odd. It was too easy to find her. She's right next to the clearing that we started at.'_

LLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

Hinata stood behind a tree a few feet outside the clearing. She makes a hand sign and says," Byakugan." With her eyes, she immediately sees through the genjutsu Kurenai set up, and sees Kurenai on the other side of the clearing with Shino. Hinata immediately runs to Kurenai's location.

When Hinata arrives, Kurenai looks up. "Hinata. Good job. You're the second to make it here. Go sit with Shino. There's still fifty minutes before the test is over."

Hinata walks over and sits by Shino. "Hello, Shino-kun. I-I'm gl-glad to see th-that you did w-well on th-the test."

LLLLLLLLLLLLL

Naruto is jumping through the trees, looking around frantically for Kurenai. '_Ah, this is bad. I probably only have around twenty minutes left, and I haven't even seen any sign of Kurenai-sensei. Why is this training ground's forest so thick; it seems like there are an endless amount of trees.' _

Suddenly, Naruto sees a clearing and jumps down. "God damn it. This is the clearing that I started at. At this rate, I'll never find Kurenai-sensei. AHHHHHH!" As Naruto yells, a couple of demonic beings rise from the ground. "Huh? Who are you two? You look scary, but you know what they say: never judge someone by their appearance. Hey, maybe you two can help me. I'm looking for someone. She's about this tall- Ah!" Naruto ducks out of the way of one of their punches. _'Maybe you can judge people by appearances.'_

LLLLLLLLLLL

Hinata and Shino sit leaned up against a tree. Hinata sits nervously, poking her fingers together. '_Naruto-kun is running out of time. There's only fifteen minutes left.' _Naruto jumps down from the trees into the clearing. '_Yes, Naruto-kun made it.'_

However, even though Naruto was in clear view of Kurenai, Hinata, and Shino, Naruto seemed not to see them at all. In fact, he stands in the middle of the clearing looking around nervously. All of a sudden, Naruto seems to spot something and jumps back throwing several kunai. He then throws a punch in the air before flying backwards as if he got hit. He then pops up before flying in a different direction.

Hinata, being able to take it no more, yells out," Na-."

"Hinata! Remember, if you help him, you all fail."

Hinata bites her lip, but stays quiet. Meanwhile, Naruto in the clearing is still battling an invisible opponent. He throws a punch followed by a quick knee. He then ducks and delivers a sweeping kick at the ground. He jumps backwards quickly, doing a backflip in midair. Naruto lands on his feet and grabs a kunai from his pouch and slashes upward. He then doubles over as if he got hit in the stomach and coughs up blood.

"Hinata-san. Your lip is bleeding."

Shino's voice snaps Hinata out of her trance. "S-sorry Shino-kun. I-I'm just w-worried about Naruto. Wh-why is h-he s-swinging at a-air? And why i-is h-he getting h-hurt?"

"I believe he is under a genjutsu. I broke one earlier, and Kurenai-sensei is a genjutsu mistress. I believe she put each of us under a genjutsu. It appears you and I were already able to break ours and find Kurenai-sensei, but it seems Naruto has not yet broken his and is battling an illusion."

"N-Nauto-kun." Hinata mumbles as Naruto takes another hit. "W-we have t-to h-help him." She whispers.

"I'm sorry Hinata-san. I couldn't hear you."

"We have to help Naruto-kun!" Hinata practically yells. She quickly covers her mouth and looks at Kurenai. Luckily, Kurenai didn't seem to hear.

"I agree. I believe he would do the same for us "

"Kurenai-sensei d-doesn't seem t-to b-be paying any a-attention to the t-test. She may e-even b-be asleep. I-if we g-go q-quickly, w-we may be able t-to b-break the genjutsu w-without her noticing."

LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

Naruto is on the verge of passing out. _'Who the fuck are these guys? I've been fighting my hardest, but I haven't even landed a single hit. If they punch me one more time, I think I'm done for.'_ The demons that Naruto had been battling for the past ten minutes charged again, and Naruto attempts to put up a weak defense. Right before their punches land, the demons shimmer out of existence. _'What?'_ Some of the trees in the background disappear also, and Hinata and Shino appear in front of him holding a hand sign.

"What's going on?"

"Yes, what is going on?" Kurenai asked threatingly suddenly standing behind Shino and Hinata.

"Oh, Kurenai-sensei. I found you. Does that mean I pass?" asked Naruto lamely.

Kurenai facepalmed. '_He has no clue what happened...'_

"N-no Naruto-kun. A-actually, me a-and Shino h-helped y-you b-break the genjutsu."

"That's right. You helped him break the genjutsu I put on him even though I explicitly told you all that giving assistance to anyone would make everyone fail. That means..." Kurenai says with a scary look on her face. The scary look, however, turns into a pleasant smile. "You all pass."

Hinata and Naruto faceplant. Naruto quickly pops up. "What do you mean we all pass? If we were allowed to help each other what was the point of those rules?"

"This team was put together this way to balance out each other's weaknesses. Naruto's close range combat and Hinata's close range combat along with her byakugun balance out Shino's mid range style. Also, Shino and Hinata's genjutsu sensing abilities help balance out Naruto's inept weakness to genjutsu. This test was designed to test your teamwork. Many times, the outcomes of missions rely on how well the team works together and the willingness of the team members to work for the team. Also, there are other times on missions where it may seem like you have to choose between saving a teammate and completing the mission. The shinobi code states that the mission comes first. However, I would not want anyone on my team who would let their comrade fall behind for the sake of a mission. So the only way to pass this test was to break my rules and work together. Good job. You are now all officially genin of the Leaf. Meet back here tomorrow at eight. We will be starting our first mission." With that, Kurenai disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

"Alright! Our first mission. I can't wait!."

LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

Next day

"Okay everyone. Here's our first mission." Kurenai announces opening up a mission scroll. "We are cleaning out someone's yard today."

"What?! I thought we'd be getting some awesome cool mission like taking out missing nin or something!"

"Naruto, you are only genin. Genin start off doing lower level D-rank missions to improve teamwork and to allow you all plenty of time to keep training. So stop complaining. If you complete enough of these, you can get a C-rank mission. That's as high up as you get though until you become chunin. No more complaints? Then let's get started." Kurenai smiles.

"She didn't even give me a chance to complain more." Naruto mumbles as he follows Kurenai to the mission.

LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

Around two months later

Naruto and the rest of Team 8 are sitting respectfully in the Hokage's office, waiting for their next mission assignment.

"Hm, hm. Yes. I have the perfect mission for you. A D-Rank mission where-"

"Excuse me, Hokage-sama."

'_Why doesn't he ever speak to me this respectfully?'_ Kurenai thought to herself.

"Yes Naruto-kun?"

"I would like to respectfully request a higher ranking mission. I feel our team is ready."

"Ah, of course. Your team is very talented. With your personality, I would have thought you'd ask for it sooner." Sarutobi laughed.

'_Why do I always get the impression the Hokage knows m?. I've only seen him a couple times in my life.'_

"You're actually the second team to ask for a C-rank mission. Team 7 asked for one not too long ago. Though the Inuzuka wasn't nearly so respectful about it. Ah, here's one. It's a delivery mission. You need to travel outside the village for it, making it a C-rank."

Team 8 bows their heads. "Thank you, Hokage-sama."

Outside the office, Naruto loses his cool demeanor and jumps up and shouts," Yahoo! We got a C-rank!"

LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

Several days later

Naruto is walking happily, his hands behind his head. His team had just successfully completed their first C-rank mission without any hiccups. It was a fun mission, and they got to travel way outside the village for it.

A pidgeon flys down from the sky and lands on Kurenai. She retrieves the message form its leg and reads it.

"Everyone, we have another mission. Team 7 need immediate back up for their mission, and since we're the closest team, we got the mission. Their mission got upgraded to B-rank, possibly A-rank. Normally genin wouldn't even be considered to go on this type of mission, but Kakashi is suffering from chakra exhaustion and they believe a dangerous shinobi that he was battling is still alive. Since we're closest, Hokage-sama is making an exception and putting us on the mission. You all need to be in top form for this one and listen to every order without question. We're heading out. Do you all understand?"

"Hai, sensei."

Team 8 jumped into the trees to quickly meet up with team 7. The whole team is very stoic due to the risk in their mission, but if one looks closely, a small smile can be seen on Naruto's lips.


End file.
